A ok friendly against a more evenly matched side but it was disappointing we lost considering the amount of possession we had, but creating good chances remained a mystery to us, we really didn't get many.
Yeovil looked no great shakes to me if I'm honest, couldn't see a difference between the sides.
Very low crowd, expected a few more. Have to say it was a tad embarrassing to see that number of stewards to the 60 or so Yeovil fans
Shirt sales are looking good though if the 2 friendlies are anything to go by.
We started really brightly in the match, controlled the early play, a mazy Banton run resulted in his effort being deflected just wide, Hartley almost scored from the resulting corner.
Yeovil couldn't get much going for them mainly due to Luke controlling his box superbly, friendlies are interesting because you can hear the words of the vocal ones and I've never heard a keeper shout so load, superb communication and really inspires confidence.
Reid opened the scoring with a superb run forward, beat the offside trap, then beat the RB before finishing excellently. That's the Reid I wanna see! Against his former club as well.
McHugh was then beaten far too easily by Yeovils speedy RB but Luke was on hand to save well and hold on to it. After Alessandra did well to win a free kick, Reid headed just wide when he perhaps should have done better. A quick free kick caught Hartley out but Luke got his body behind the effort and saved.
Yeovil then equalised with a stunner from range, no stopping that one as it was rifled in to the top corner, although the striker wasn't closed down fast enough.
We were playing a 442 but a much looser version with Morgan, Banton and Reid playing in more free roles.
Morgan, Reid and McCormick all had very good first halfs while I think McHugh and to a lesser degree Cox were a little under par, the rest did fairly well. One point, we found ourselves offside far too much and we still don't know how to take throw ins.
Why don't we have a HT routine? Both Swansea and Yeovil ha. A coach out doing a proper session at HT while our subs are always sent out to just mess around. Bit unprofessional.
No changes for the start of the 2nd half as a ball in almost picked at Morgan, soon after a great ball in from Yeovils big forward was inches from being converted.
There was then a lull in play as Thomas came on, but a McHugh mistake nearly gifted Yeovil a goal. Also, why can't we announce properly (was the same V Swansea)? The announcer didn't seem to have a clue of player names or numbers all night and got just about every sub wrong? Sigh haha.
Purrington replaced Morgan and went on to the wing strangely, found space well and created a chance for Thomas but he shot straight at the keeper, we were now playing a flat 442 with Reid and Lewi up top.
Luke picked up an injury and shouldn't have been allowed to continue, looked in pain.
Harvey soon replaced Reid and Allen replaced Norburn, both left to good receptions.
Yeovils winner was soft, a soft shot deflected. We soon nearly got level as Thomas unleashed a great shot which sailed just wide.
The second half was a much duller affair and it seemed to fizzle out.
I think both sides will be pleased with a good test, fitness wise and tactically. I thought we were much better in possession, my concern was the lack of good chances created, not many at all, I can't think of 1 in the second half.
McCormick - 8 - very good commanding performance, much more like it. Hope the injury wasn't anything that'll put him out of the first game.
Mellor - 6 - a good defender but his passing and crossing wasn't great.
Nelson - 7 - Solid.
Hartley - 8 - very strong and dominant, kept their giant of a forward quiet.
McHugh - 5 - very strong and a great tackler but done for pace too many times, much more of a CB but an ok LB I guess.
Cox - 6 - not the best first half but got better.
Norburn - 7 - good throughout, very lively.
Banton - 6 - looked a tad tired at times but overall he was alright, better in the early stages, rightly subbed to preserve fitness.
Alessandra - 5 - I thought he was wasteful, his first touch is excellent but he just never seemed to pick the right option.
Reid - 8 - dangerous throughout, tired toward the end but a great solo goal.
Morgan - 7 - proving a lot of people wrong, good in the air and on the floor, despite some morons behind me cheering when he went off, he got a good reception from most.
Thomas - 6 - lively but didn't have much to do, tightly marked.
Purrington - 6 - was sceptical of playing him out wide but he did quite well.
Harvey - 4 - upfront today and still lightweight, can't see him doing a lot this season either.
Allen - 5 -' no doubt he's a young talent but we need better back up for midfield.
My MOTM was Hartley.
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Wed Jul 30, 2014 9:55 pm
